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Shakespeare 2

Over the
years, various persons have expressed doubt as to the authorship of William
Shakespeare. These doubts are as old as his plays. American author, Henry
James once said, ³I am haunted by the conviction that the divine William is the
biggest and the most successful fraud ever practiced on a patient world.
(Hoffman 27) On the other hand, author Calvin Hoffman was convinced that
Shakespeare was ³the author of the most magnificent English dramatic prose and
poetry ever written. (Hoffman 27) But, he reiterated this belief nineteen
years later, stating, ³They are magnificent! Only, William Shakespeare of
Stratford-on- Avon never wrote the plays and poems.² (Hoffman 27)

Crime,
guilt, fraud, exile, hate, deceit, and murder are all woven into this shroud of
authorship that hides the identity of the world¹s most renowned writer. Cranks
have proposed over fifty candidates for authorship, from Queen Elizabeth to the
Jesiuts.

Although
many doubt that William Shakespeare ever wrote the works attributed to him,
some still resort to pro-Shakespearean arguments. John Drinkwater, author and
believer, felt that the flowers, banks, brooks, pastures, and woodlands of
Shakespeare¹s boyhood home, Stratford, were all transfigured in his plays by
his wonderful verse, but yet they still remained the scenes to which he was
bred. Drinkwater believed too, that not only in Shakespeare¹s humble folk,
shepherds, gardeners, and serving men, but also in his princes and kings, he
reflected the humanity with which he was familiar in Stratford. The knowledge
and wisdom he acquired directly from his own enviroment was quite true to
life. Drinkwater also said that mere book- knowledge in Shakespeare¹s works
was usually incorrect because he used knowledge outside the range of his own
experiences, with a ³grand audacity.²

It is true
that William Shakespeare attended grammar school in Stratford, and tha he
acquired some competence in Latin and gained a limited knowledge of English
history. There was a period of time in his life referred to as his ³dark
years,² and this period of time may have been subjected to influences making
for high culture.

Records say
too, that Shakespeare left Stratford in 1585 and went on the stage in 1590. During this time he could have attended Cambridge or worked in a lawyer¹s
office, apparently remaining about one year with the court. This left one year
in which he might have traveled to France and Italy, which would account for
certain knowledge revealed in his works. Perhaps Shakespeare¹s plays are too
scholarly to have been written by a man without a degree, but that, some
believe can be explained by the fact that the plays looked learned to people of
later generations who did not use classical allusion as a part of their common
speech. Others believe that the depth of learning in the plays seems
impossible for a man of Shakespeare¹s position, but when the overwhelming power
of the plays is considered, the learning in them seems trivial. Little is
known of Shakespeare today. But, this lack of information about Shakespeare¹s
life can be attributed to the fact that his era was not one of biography,
casual letter writing , or journalism. What was said about Shakespeare was
unwritten.

Stratfordians,
or those who believe that Shakespeare did indeed write the works attributed to
him, began with a preconceived idea that he wrote the plays, and then they
tried to make facts and circumstances fit their case, some say . To account
for innumeralbe instances where Shakespeare exhibited such wide knowledge,
Stratfordians say that Shakespeare pumped anyone he could for information. However, others feel that pumping friends for local color could help with broad
knowledge, but really could not enable him to convey the atmosphere of a
country or to add small, rather insignificant details which could only come
from the pen of a writer who had actually experienced them.

Many feel
that since Shakespeare¹s greatness was not widely proclaimed and because none
of his original manuscripts survived, is evidence that the latter was destroyed
to conceal the author¹s identity. And too, once a play was printed, the
manuscript possessed no value, so the paper, which was costly and needed for
practical purposes was used, leaving no single manuscript in Shakespeare¹s
handwriting.

Anti-Shakespeare
arguments begin with the point that no public or private mention of Shakespeare
as a man, poet, or dramatist was made at his death. In Elizabethean convention
too, the elegiac poem was a true work of respect, yet there was none found for
William Shakespeare. How could he then be the foremost figure in English
literature? From all indications found, during 1585 to 1593, Shakespeare¹s
most creative years, he was never referred to by anyone, personally or
professionally. From birth to death, no evidence, outside of his name
appearing in the title pages of the nine First Quartos, has been found to
attest that Shakespeare was a writer or poet. Many details in his plays could
have been acquired only by personal experiences, yet no Shakespeare was
mentioned in the cast of any play during his lifetime. It is pure speculation
that some say that he was an actor.

Another
argument is that only nobles or those associated with nobility could have
written such noble thoughts and described the aristocratic character. How
could somone of Shakespeare¹s status write Hamlet? Therefore, some say that
the world in which Shakespeare evidently was not at home, must have been the
world to which he belonged.

In
addition, familiarity with languages, literature, law, politics, history,
geography, and court life found in Shakespeare¹s writings, are all
inconceivable for a commoner. Shakespeare never attended a University and was
not highly cultured. Yet, whoever wrote the plays must have been highly
cultured. Some think he may not have been able to even write. Also, it was
doubtful if his wife and children could write. His own barely legible
signature, attached only to his will and some business deals, with sixteen
variations of handwriting ,was odd for a literary genius. Self-education was
impossible since he probably owned no books. In his will, no mention of any
books was made, and books were valuable enough to be mentioned.

Before
death, Shakespeare composed his own epitaph:

Good friend
for Jesus sake forbeare

To
digg the dust encloased heare;

Blest
be the man that spares these stones

And
curste be he who moves my bones. (Sykes 60)

Why would a poet
and playwright who wrote so brilliantly have no higher sentiments for his own
epitaph?

Now, just
who could have written the works attributed to William Shakespeare? That
Christopher Marlowe was really Shakespeare has been given much credence among
many literary people. Marlowe was educated and awarded scholarships. This
proves he was able to produce great works.

Another
theory came from Calvin Hoffman, who long ago said that on May 29,1593,
Marlowe, previously arrested for atheism, was charged with treason. His
homosexual friend, Thomas Walsingham, foresaw doom for his lover and made a
plan. Marlowe was to be the victim of a fake murder, allowing charges against
him to vanish with his death. The murder of a sailor, supposedly Marlowe, was
arranged and committed, forcing Marlowe to pack up and leave the country. A
coroner was contacted and Marlowe was officially pronounced dead.

Possibly
Marlowe went to Italy after escaping to France. That might account for
knowledge of Italy in certain plays. Then too, he is thought to have later
returned to England, in disguise, to work in seclusion at Walsingham¹s estate. There, he could have walked the thousand acres of woods where so many allusions
to nature could have come to him. Thus, was it a coincidence that Marlowe in
his thirteenth year, May, 1593, died, and Shakespeare, also in his thirteeth
year, came forth as a writer, four months later, in September, 1593?

Marlowe
left a poem, it is said, called ³Venus and Adonis,² registered anonymously. Four months after the end of Marlowe, this poem appeared with the name William Shakespeare. To make Shakespeare inconspicuous, the poem was a logical candidate for the
first publication, since Marlowe¹s reputation was that of a dramatist, not a
poet. Walsingham probably received manuscripts from Marlowe, but Marlow¹s
handwriting was known to his publishers who owned his previous material, so a
trusted Marlowe¹s experiences even appear in the plays. There is a duel in
Romeo and Juliet and in The Jew of Malta, he even described his fate, where
the character Machevel is Marlowe saying:

Albert
the world think Macheval is dead,

Yet
was his soul but flown beyond the Alps

And
now the Guize is dead, us come from France

To
view this land (Britian) and frolic with friends.

To
some, perhaps my name is odius,

But
such as love me guard me from their tongues,

And
let them know that I am Macheval. (Hoffman 142)

Calvin Hoffman,
long ago, found similarities between Marlowe and Shakespeare. He found a
picture of both, enlarged them, and saw identical details in their faces. Other
critics feel there are similarites in style and tone. Also, Marlowe could not
have influenced Shakespeare if he died before Shakespeare began to write. There is no evidence the two ever met or spoke.

Lastly, in
an attempt to prove Marlowe¹s authorship, Calvin Hoffman, a long-time critic,
received permission to open the tomb of Marlowe¹s friend, Thomas Walsingham. There he hoped to find manuscripts. However, all he found was sand. There was
no coffin and no papers.

On the
other hand, Professor J. M. Massi says that the entire Marlowe theory is
ridiculous. To say that because Shakespeare came from a lower economic class,
therefore he could not have written the works, says that only the wealthy and
advantaged can be a success. Shakespeare took part in share- holding in
theatical companies. He was a shrewd businessman, and was granted, through
his father, a coat of arms and status. Also, if Shakespeare was educated
typically of his time, he was fluent in Latin and had some Greek and had read the
classical authors, which is impressive. Massi says too, that in Shakespeare¹s
time, authors trained authors so a work had many authors, and the printer put
one name on the cover of the play. Lastly, Massi says that people say there
aren¹t many records about Shakespeare, but he feels that considering the few
they kept then, we have enough.

Edward de
Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, another candidate for authorship, was born April 23,
1550, Shakespeare¹s birthday. He was attached to letters and the theater. He
also had an intimate relationship with Queen Elizabeth. Edward de Vere studied
law, knew the people of court, war, and Italy. He had appropriate knowledge to
write the plays. He may have used the pseudonym Shakespeare because in
tournaments he carried a long spear, or because his coat of arms was a lion
shaking a spear. He may also have been ashamed of writing, being the Earl of
Oxford, and therefore assumed a pseudonym as protection against losing status. Edward de Vere was a royal ward where he had the opportunity to observe and
participate in court life, while Shakespeare was in little Stratford, isolated
from an intellectual society, at the time he was supposed to be writing.

Edward de
Vere traveled widely in Europe, too. And, Shakespeare¹s plays must have been
written by a much-traveled man. If Shakespeare ever traveled outside of
England, or even within England, further then London, nothing is know of it.

There is
further support for Edward de Vere. Writers often put their thoughts,
friendships, love affairs and other personal experiences into their works. Matching episodes from de Vere¹s life with the plays, revealed his mother to be
similar to Hamlet¹s mother, a father-in law like Polonius, a fair lady- the
Queen, a dark lady-his mistress, Ann Vavasor, and a boy, de Vere¹s bastard son.

Some even
believe de Vere paid Shakespeare hush money to use his name. In conclusion, of
the deVere theory, is the point that de Vere¹s death coincided with
Shakespeare¹s retirement to Stratford. The mouthpiece was withdrawn when the
voice was gone. Again Professor Massai believes that the evidence for de Vere
is highly creative, but he would be the best choice. But still, he says , that
if there was a cover-up going on, many people would know the truth, and they
certainly all would not have kept the secret going to their graves.

A third
contender for the writer of Shakespeare¹s works is Francis Bacon. Those who
support him are Baconians. Bacon was chosen because of his intellectual ability. Also, parallels exist in both Bacon¹s and Shakespeare¹s works, suggesting their
identities are one. Bacon too, invented a cipher and some believe it was to
conceal himself. A Sir Toby Matthew once wrote to Bacon and said, ³The most
prodigious wit that ever I knew... is of Your Lordship¹s name, though he be
known by another.² (Encyclopedia Britannica) People who say Bacon did not
write Shakespeare¹s works assert that he was not a great poet, so he could not
have been a great dramatist. They say he was a cold man, stately, and grave. Whoever wrote Shakespeare¹s works was ³sparkling² and ³extravagant.² Bacon¹s
works did not sympathize with suffering, while Shakespeare¹s did. Bacon and
Shakespeare viewed the world differently.

Finally,
some disbelievers support another candidate, William Stanley, the 6th Earl of
Derby, who was interested in drama, and became a patron of a company of
actors. Several poems showed signs of early and immature Shakespeare, but he
was a boy at that time. One was signed in Derby¹s handwriting, and three
signed ³William Shakespeare.² His motive- like de Vere¹swould have been to
avoid association of his family name with the lower social order of the stage.

Was
Shakespeare hinting at his name through word play? His verses, such as ³...
every word doth almost tell my name...² seem to be an attempt to reveal his
name. Another line says, ³Whats in a name?² Sonnet III says, ³Hence comes it
that my name receives a brand,² and ³ my name be buried where my body is....²

In conclusion,
curiosity has indeed been aroused for many , many years. Hundreds of theories
and shreds of proof have been gathered, but the world will always wonder and
waver between doubt and belief in William Shakespeare. So, the question still
remains, ³Was Shakespeare really Shakespeare?²

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